Improvement in hydraulic ranis



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. HYDRAULIC-RAM. No. 175,078. Patented Mann 21,1876.V

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, HYDRAULIC-RAM. No. 175,078. Patented March 21,1876.

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UNITED STATES PATENT Ormes,

WILLIAMfW. GRIER,OF HULTON, PENNSYLVANIA( IMPROVEMENT IN HYDRAULIC RAMS Specication forming part 'of Letters Patent No. 175,078, dated March2l, 1876; application iiled February 1?, 1876.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM W. GRIER, of Hulten, in the count-yet' Allegheny and State of' Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hydraulic Rams, of which the following` is a specication:

This invention consists of certain improvements upon the hydraulic ram secured to me by Letters Patent No. 157,325, dated the lst day of' December, 1874, the nature and operation of' which improvements will now be described.

In the accompanying drawing, forming part of this specification, Figure 1. shows the ram complete, in elevation. Fig. 2 is a plan of the ram with its several-connecting-pipes severed near their junctions with the ram. Fig. 3 is a vertical section through the airvessel and valve-chamber of the ram, at the line x in Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 is a detail view,

showing the manner of attaching the glass air-chamber.

In these figures theparts only that are new will be described, the other parts either'being common to hydraulic rams generally, or else being already described in the aforesaid Letters Patent.

The operation of the machine, with the improved devices attached, is as follows: When the valve A ceases to operate, by reason of a failing head of' water, the valve will fall down from its seat B, which is screwed into its base, thus formingboth a seat and valve-cham ber for the valve, the water, in the meantime, gently 1 iiowing past the valve along any conduit that may be provided for it. Another effect ofthe failing head of' water is, that the supply of' water in the cup or vessel C becomes exhausted, which vessel was kept full, while the head of water was high,`by means ofthe pipe-D directly, and by the pipe E, through the intervention ofl the vessel F, which is provided with an orifice in its bottom for the purpose of' letting Water escape therefrom. A similar orifice is provided in the bottom of' the vessel G, and both of these orifices are provided with gates g for adjusting the size of each oriice to the supply of water due to its ordinary head. From one end of the vessel C the arm G2 rises and clasps the stem of the valve A immediately under a collar secured to the said stem. Through the orifice in the bottom of the vessel C the water is, therefore, constantly escaping, and as soon as the head of water becomes so much diminished as to allow the valve A to drop open, the diminished supply, or entire cessation of water to the vessel C will cause it to become empty by reason of the escape of the water through the orifice in its bottom. As soon nsthe vessel C becomes empty, the weight G on the end of a lever attached to said vessel will overbalance the empty Vessel and tip it up, thereby causing the arm C2 to lift the valve A up and close it tight iu its seat. No water can now escape or run to waste as long as the valve A remains closed. This being the case, the water at its source or supply -reservoir becomes dammed up, and, as soon as a sufficient head is again obtained, commences to iiow therefrom, and passes' down into and through the pipes I) and E, in so. doing lling the vessels F and G, and depressing them, the supply of Water to them being greater than the oriiices in their bottoms can carry oli'. By the fall of' the vessel C, the arm C2 is removed from the support of the valve A, and, lest it should hangin its seat, the arm supporting the vessel F falls down at the same time, giving alight blow to the top of the valvestem, thus compelling the valve to open and thereby starting the ram with a new liow of Water of' increased head. The ram will thus continue to Work as long as this supply of' water maylast. Should the valve A hang at any time-either open or shuta-either one or the other of the vessels C and F .will set it again in operation. lt will be observed that when the Water passes the valve A with a full head, part of it falls into the vessel G and retains it depressed but when escaping past the valve A` with a diminished head the water falls down without entering the vessel C.

The valve-seat B, secured to its base by screw threads, thus forms a neat and improved bonuet and guidechamber for the valve A, and the set-screw S, serving to regulate the lift of' the valve, is an improvement upon the method of regulating said lift by means of nuts and jam-nuts.

The small orice o is provided in the shifting-nut N, in order that said orifice, which is usually' drilled in the pipe itself, can be regulated in size more quickly and cheaply by disi-.arding the nut, if necessary, and substituting another nut, than by plugging up the hole in the pipe and drilling` it again and again.

It is a matter of great nicety to properly adjust the size of such exceedingly minute airholes as the ram requires. The air-chamber K is of glass, and is fitted with external screwthreads, by which it is secured to the dischargechamber of the ram. The glass air-vessel itself is a great improvement upon a metal nir-vessel, and the method of securing it by external screw-threads upon the dischargechamber of the ram is also a great improvement upon the method of securing air-vessels by a flange and bolts.

Instead of securing the air-vessel K directly within the discharge chamber of the ram, a l-etter plan is to couple the said air-vessel to the discharge-chamber by a sleeve of thin, somewhat soft and compressible metal, as i3 lshown in Fig. 4. The glass will then be secure from fracture, if too tightly screwed up, or from changes of temperature. Any sudllen contraction or expansion ofthe glass will thus be compensated for by the yielding character of the metal sleeve, the threads of which, like corrugations, assisting in its expansion and contraction when under strain.

Having thus fully described the operation of this hydraulic ram, the sole improvements claimed by me as of my invention are as follows I claim- 1. The water-balance vessels C and F in combination with the valve A, whereby the said valve is operated in the manner and for the purposes substantially as set forth.

2. The glass air-vessel K, provided with external screw-threads, in combination with the discharge-chamber of a hydraulic ram or other water-forcing machine, and united thereto by a soft-metal sleeve, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

3. The combination, with a water-balance vessel, C, of a water-gate, g, whereby the flow of water therefrom is adjusted to the head of water supplying the ram, substantially as hereinbefore set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM WATSON GRIER.

Witnesses MAGNUs PFLAUM, JAs. S. YOUNG. 

